Bellator 180 pay-per-view price set at $49.95 for high-definition

Bigger stars, bigger venue, bigger price tag.

The Bellator 180 pay-per-view offering, “Bellator NYC,” will set you back $49.95 for the high-definition version of the company’s second pay-per-view event on June 24 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Bellator President Scott Coker confirmed the news today to MMAjunkie after an announcement on “The MMA Hour.” A price for the standard definition version of the event is not yet available, Coker added.

The Viacom-owned promotion’s first PPV event, Bellator 120, was priced between $30 and $45. According to former CEO Bjorn Rebney, that was due to cable operators picking their own price.

As previously reported, Bellator 120 drew 100,000 buys.

The locale of Bellator’s PPV follow-up is lot different, so that could have something to do with the bump in price. Bellator 120 took place at Landers Center in Southaven, Miss., while “Bellator NYC” goes down at the world-famous Madison Square Garden.

Not only that, but the event is headlined by three high-profile, high-dollar draws, including three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen (29-15-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA), former PRIDE champ Wanderlei Silva (35-12-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and legend Fedor Emelianenko (36-4 MMA 0-0 BMMA). Those fighters augment a pair of title fights and the Spike-televised lead-in to the PPV card.

Of course, Bellator is hoping the array of talent will convince fans to buy the event. Before Emelianenko’s ill-fated promotional debut, Coker said he would be happy if the former PRIDE champ drew 2 million viewers to Bellator 172.

The current Bellator 180 and “Bellator: NYC” lineup includes:

“Bellator: NYC”

• Wanderlei Silva vs. Chael Sonnen
• Fedor Emelianenko vs. Matt Mitrione
• Champ Douglas Lima vs. Lorenz Larkin – for welterweight title
• Champ Michael Chandler vs. Brent Primus – for lightweight title

Bellator 180

• James Gallagher vs. Chinzo Machida
• Aaron Pico vs. TBA

For more on “Bellator NYC” and Bellator 180, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.